


Turning Tide

by Mauness, Renjy (Mauness)



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Arguing, From R of course, Getting Together, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn, Soulmate politics, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:00:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28897791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mauness/pseuds/Mauness, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mauness/pseuds/Renjy
Summary: In an AU where you get your soulmate tattoo on your 21st birthday, the Amis have ended up living together in a house after their high school years. Most of the Amis are studying and live peacefully together. But not everyone gets along fine.Perhaps Enjolras' birthday coming up will fix this?~ It probaly contains a few curse words.~ It's meant to be IC, but sorry for any OOC-ness.~ Only JBM is a couple in the start. The others will eventually end up together.
Relationships: Bahorel/Feuilly (Les Misérables), Combeferre/Courfeyrac (Les Misérables), Enjolras/Grantaire (Les Misérables), Joly/Bossuet Laigle/Musichetta
Kudos: 1





	Turning Tide

**Author's Note:**

> ~ English is not my first language.  
> ~ The story is completed in Dutch, so I just have to translate it.  
> ~ The school system and other things are based on the Netherlands, simply because that was the easiest for me when I originally wrote this fic.  
> ~ I'll add tags as I get further with translating the story. Don't hesistate to let me know if you feel like I should add a tag!

Considering I had another night shift last night I am not surprised when I see that it's 2:00 PM when I wake up. I would otherwise not be that surprised neither, but now I at least have a good reason if my friends decide to bother me about it again. Which I still don't get, since it's my life and I can do what I want to do with it. If I want to waste it by lying in bed, let me. I ignore, as usual, my right upper arm when I get ready to go to the living room. I have ignored that part of my arm to the best of my possibiities ever since I've turned 2, because I simply don't care for the goverment and our system, and I don't want to be influenced by it. I want to love people by myself, not directed by society. Not that that's going well so far, but whatever. It is quiet in the living room, makes sense for a Tuesdsay afternoon. After getting a cup of coffee, I decided to relax some more on the cough in the living area. I slowly dooze off.   
  
Voices wake me up. 'It's that time again,' I hear a very well known sigh.  
'He was working last night. Let him sleep.'  
''Ferre. He always sleeps during the day, no matter if he has had work or not.'  
'Fair enough,' admits Combeferre to Enjolras after a small silence. 'But we have tried enough things to try and stimulate him. And as you know, one of the only things that activates him is-'  
'Yeah, yeah. I know that it is his hobby to rile me up. You don't have to keep reminding me of it.'  
I hear Combeferre and Courfeyrac laughing. For once I have to aagree with Enjolras. Though I do do other things too, sometimes. 'I would see it as a compliment that you can motivate me, Apollo,' I say while opening my eyes. 'Not many people can achieve that.'  
All three of them look at me. They all clearly thought that I was still sleeping. 'But you have to find actual motivation,' Enjolras starts, most likely to continue with one of his "motivational" speeches.  
Not what I was aiming for. If he wants to make the world better, an unachievable goal, he can try to do so without me. Enjolras in is indeed continuing to try to motivate me. 'You can't work or drink every night and do nothing during the day. that-'  
'Or both,' I interrupt grinning. 'And it works for me, so why can't I do so?'  
'R!' Courfeyrac responds outraged. 'You can't drink while you're working.'  
I shrug. 'It isn't bothering anyone.'  
That's actually true. I work on the least busy days, when nearly no one comes over for questions. So my habits not going away is no issue. No matter how often people disagree with that. 'And you actually still work at that one hotel?' Enjorlas asks.  
I nod. 'I still work at the Apollo hotel, yeah. Cute that you remember that.'  
Combeferre and Courfeyrac chuckle. I'm not going to respond to that. And while true, it is only nice coincidence. It is not why I chose to apply for work there, the work times were just ideal. Enjolras does look to the duo before he looks at me again. 'While you are drinking? Your bosses are out of their minds.'  
'Hey!' I object.  
'Not having any kind of work would acually be good for you,' Enjorlas continues. 'Then you wouldn't be able to drink and would have to seriously do something'  
'Oh, don't worry Enjolras. I will always find my ways to get to alcohol.'  
Enjolras sighs. 'Why are you even still doing it? It's not good for your health. In your own time that is your own business, but that hotel suffers from it. You need to be responsible and take your work serious. Which you can't do while drinking or sleeping.'  
'I am not always drunk! And it is only good for the guests if I have some alcohol in me. It makes me more hospitable and friendly.'   
Combeferre and Courfeyrac walk away from us. 'That's the problem. You are never sober, you can't-'  
'For fucks sake, let me live my life how I want to live it. Take an example in how our friends do that. I drink. Get over it.'  
'I am not going to let you-'  
I get up and interrupt Enjolras again. 'I am not your charity case, Enjolras. That you want to try to save the world is fine. But leave me out of it.'  
With that I walk back into my room.  
  
I go back downstairs when I want to get dinner. Our living room is more ful. Jehan and presumably two study friends from him, since I don't recognize them, are at the table talking about literature, as expected. Enjolras, Combeferre and Courfeyrac sit on one of the coughes and Bahorel and Feuilly on the other. I go ahead and sit next to the later two. The only house inhibitants that are missing now are Joly and Bossuet. Who are probably somewhere where I don't want to think about. I love them and ther girlfriend, who I actually get along with quite well, but I don't fancy seeing them being soo fond and affectionate in their romance. So now I don't see them being sappy at least and won't get triggers thoughts about the soulmate thing. I mean, of course it's nice and all that that they found love with their soulmate marks, but the society shouldn't decide who can and can't be together and who knows when someones words are being said? Should we really wait for something that might not even actually happen and let that define our life? And I really rather not know my words. It is a principal thing to make my point come across. I am not going to think with every new person I meet whether or whether not they are my soulmate match. Now I can't even do so. Now I can love whoeever I want to love and make my own choices. Our doors opens and my slightly feared triad walks in. Great. 'Nice that you guys could make it,' Combeferre says.  
The others agree. Joly smiles. 'Sorry we're a bit later than usual. But Musichetta had to work and when we were on our way here Bossuet tripped over-'  
This time I join in with the laughter that errupts before Joly can finish his sentence. Bossuet doesn't even looks offended anymore. He even smiles himself. The friends of Jehan look confused. 'Why are you guys laughing at how a friend trips over something?' one of them asks us.  
'Oh, that's because Bossuet here attracts bad luck,' Joly says. 'So it is a running gag.'  
The two friends of Jehan nod to that. Not much later they and Jehan decide to hang out in the city. Bahorel and Feuilly join them. The rest of us decide as a group to order soem food and divide ourselves of the two couches and a chair. Joly, Bossuet and Musichetta lie together on one of the couches and Enjolras and I sit on opposite sides of Combeferre on the other cough. Courfeyrac sits on the chair he grabbed from the dinner table. Someone turns the tv on. U look sideways to it: the newschannel. Okay, I can guess who must have turned the tv on. I look to Enjolras and he indeed has the remote control for the tv. Combeferre and Courfeyrac also watch the news, while Joly, Bossuet and Musichetta seem to be talking about soemthing. 'Really?' I decide to ask Enjolras. 'Don't you get bored about seeing the same thing over and over again?'  
Enjolras sighs. 'How else do you want to be aware of what's going on in the world?'  
'Looking at online news websites? And you can also just watch the news once or twice a day, then you hear less of the same thing.'  
'It doesn't get repeated that often. And the things online are less reliable.'  
'Not repeated?' I ask with a glace towards the tv, which still tells the same story as a few minutes earlier. 'Because a sudden change in the public transport network is worth five minutes?' Then the subject changes. Enjolras looks at me to prove that my point is wrong. This doesn't change the fact that I was right though. The subject now seems to be a law that they might be adjusting. I'm pretty sure Enjolras deems this useful, but I wander a bit in my thoughts till I hear Enjolras speak out loud. 'It's so partial and biased. I don't get it. Why is our government here so.. Minorities count too.  
'Well, not for the politicians' I have to interfere. 'But what is it about this time?'  
Enjolras looks reproving to me. 'You complain about the news but don't listen to it?' he says. 'Then it is neither your business now.'  
'It's about soulmates,' Combeferre says. 'Enjolras doesn't agree with it.'  
'Of course I don't!' Enjolras explaims. 'There are peope who don't have or don't want to have a soulmate, or who have violent soulmates. But no one seems to care about that. Everyone seems to trust something blind while it is flawed.'  
'What's wrong with soulmates?' I ask.'Why so sour, Apollo? It gives us security and safety about something.'  
'We are people, Grantaire,' Enjorlas replies. 'We shouldn't let ourselves be led by some desctructive and defective mechanism.'  
'Because you knwo how it works?' I ask him.  
He doesn't kwow what he is talking about. 'Look at you. You're not together with someone.'  
'I'm not, but I wait happily for my soulmate or soulmates,' I lie. 'And they will come when they come. It is no proof for your instable argument. There is less hate between people because of this system. Isn't that what you want?'  
'No. I want changes. For the greater good for this country and the world. Not something what people mindless follow. Not everything that politicians say is the truth. We also have to think for ourselves.'  
'You don't know more about soulmates than they do though. You can't just presume that they lie, just because you don't like the concept of soulmates.'  
'So you like it and believe in it?'  
No, but Enjolras doesn't need to know that. 'Like I said before,' I confrim with a nod. 'I don't care for the politics, but I do believe in the soulmate bonds. Isn't nice to know for sure that you belong with someone? To have no doubts about love? Love happens with soulmates, and that's why it has been working for so long.'  
'Have you not listened to what I have said before?' Enjolras asks rethorically. 'This system doesn't work that perfectly, and.. Wait, do you really want to say that you have never felt in love with someone? Never? Really?'  
I nod. 'My friends, can't you tow continue your arguing elsewhere? I'm trying to study here.' Joly interrupts our arguing.  
I look to him. 'You can always study somewhere else,' I say. 'But alright, I need something to drink anyway.'  
I get up and walk to the kitchen, ignoring the look I get from Enjolras.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~ Yes, that hotel actually excist according to Google. So naturally I just had to use it xD  
> ~ I kept a Dutch inside joke in: the news mentiones the trains because they are usually quite often delayed here. (And the politicians lying only has become more and more accurate.)


End file.
